🎬 TL;DR: WATCH THE VIDEO (click above) for all the examples and insights. Only takes 8.5 minutes at 2x speed. ⏩
Getting people to subscribe is hard. Whether you’re working on a streaming service or SaaS tool, your pricing page is where small changes can make a big difference. Every detail counts—CTA buttons, plan defaults, recommendations, feature highlights. And especially in a competitive space like streaming, small tweaks to a pricing page can make a meaningful difference.
To dig into this, I teamed up with Barron Ernst. Barron is Head of Growth at Figure and a veteran product leader. He was VP of Product at Snap, Director of Product at Booking, Senior Director at One Kings Lane -- and most important for this teardown—he was the Chief Product Officer at ShowMax, the streaming service.
Back in the day, Barron also led product at Intuit. In fact, he was my manager! I got to see his product skills firsthand.
Having him as my first guest here is a treat—I can’t imagine anyone better to help dissect Max’s pricing page, revealing strategies and insights that can inspire any team focused on conversions and engagement.
If you’re in the subscription business, this teardown is full of actionable ideas. Even a quick skim will give you insights you can use immediately (timestamps included for easy watching).
If you’re building any product with recurring revenue, here are five big takeaways to start with.
Want to up your game? WATCH THE FULL VIDEO for all the nuggets—there are at least five more! And Barron is really good (be sure to check out his Substack too).
Also, this is the kind of work we do with companies every day at Irrational Labs—if your team needs some teardown love, shoot me an email at Kristen@irrationallabs.com.
1️⃣ Pricing: People may not come for the bundle, but you can offer it (00:30)
Max has a clever approach to guiding users toward its bundle—by making it the default option in some places. If you’re searching for a popular show, you’ll land on Max’s site and find that the bundle, not the lower-priced plan, is the first thing you see. This approach uses a principle known in behavioral science as the default effect or status quo bias—our tendency to stick with the status quo or choose the most automatic option among a set of options.
Barron’s take: “If people are that interested in a show, they probably have data that tells them to push the full bundle to these people...It’s interesting—you don’t even see on this page the ability to just subscribe to Max… They’re saying, hey, if you just want Max, it’s $9.99, but if you want three services, it’s only $7 extra...they would love to drive you towards this, but for people who just want a single show, they’re also giving you that option.”
2️⃣ Add more CTAs (02:45)
As you scroll down Max’s page, you see enticing visuals of popular shows, but the only subscription CTA is at the top. This adds cognitive friction—users can get excited about shows but have to backtrack to act on it. Adding multiple CTA buttons along the content scroll would reduce this friction and let people act in the moment, boosting engagement with content while increasing conversion potential.
Barron’s take: “The interesting thing is none of this actually becomes clickable...I was surprised by that...an obvious A-B test would be just what are the buttons? Where should they be placed?”
3️⃣ Give people a reason to act today (03:15)
Max could do better here. Many subscription sites use temporary discounts or limited-time offers to convert users who are on the fence. Max’s pricing page lacks this urgency, which means they may be missing out on potential conversions from users who just need a small nudge. Adding a time-limited discount could create an “act now” mentality, driving engagement and early sign-ups. Fetch the popcorn! 🍿
My take: “I’m also surprised they don’t really have a discount here...Typically people are like, ‘Look, you can get the bundle for a limited amount of time, cross something off’.”
4️⃣ Structure choice flow to make choosing feel easier (14:02)
Max has put some serious thought into how choices are presented, making sure users aren’t overwhelmed. At the top, Max showcases its most popular shows and new releases—things people are more likely to choose without a second thought. Only as you scroll down does Max reveal more options, organizing content into clear categories like “Top Picks” and “New Releases” to help you narrow down. This choice architecture simplifies the experience. Instead of choosing from everything at once, you pick a category, then choose within that. It’s a great example of structuring choices to make the selection feel natural.
My take: “You’re not actually choosing between all of these, you’re choosing about which category to start with...It is a lot of choice, but by making it easier for people, you can actually kind of make it feel a little better.”
5️⃣ Encourage shared accounts to increase retention (17:16)
One often-overlooked strategy for retention is encouraging shared accounts. When multiple people use the same account, it creates a natural barrier to cancellation since ending the subscription affects others. Max could further promote shared accounts as a feature, reinforcing the service as a household staple rather than an individual luxury. This approach capitalizes on social dynamics—if family members or roommates are invested in Max, users are less likely to consider unsubscribing.
My take: “The key to [cancellation] is other people watching. You can’t really cancel if your spouse is watching without a deep conversation. And so there could be something to bringing more people on and creating that lock-in right up front.”
Takeaways to boost conversions and keep users engaged
The Max team is dialing in on strategies that encourage people to convert, stay engaged, and feel like they’re getting great value. Big thanks to Barron for joining me on this teardown!
At Irrational Labs, we work with teams to apply behavioral science principles just like these to their products. If you’re looking to refine your own pricing page, try these tactics and let me know your results. And if you’re considering going deeper, reach out to us: kristen@irrationallabs.com 📧
💬 Want to chat with Barron? Connect with him on LinkedIn and subscribe to his Substack.
Questions? Comment below. And make sure you’re subscribed to this Substack so that you don’t miss the next teardown.
🎬 This post is just a sneak peek. WATCH THE VIDEO (below) for all the insights, examples, and yep, jokes. Tip: It’s just 8.5 minutes at 2x speed. ⏩
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📧 Questions about product adoption? Shoot me an email: kristen@irrationallabs.com.
Want to increase conversion, retention, engagement? Reach out to Irrational Labs.
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